Guide
Turn your GitHub profile into a designed, self-updating README in about ten minutes. You'll create one repository, make a token that can write to it, build your README in the studio and publish it.
Everything runs in your browser. The token is sent only to GitHub and is never stored.
Part 1
your-username/your-usernameOn GitHub, click + → New repository. Name it exactly like your username; GitHub confirms it's the special repository that shows on your profile. Set it to Public, switch Add README on, then click Create repository.
Part 2
Glassfolio needs permission to commit the README, its images and the daily-update workflows to your profile repository. A fine-grained token limited to that one repository is the safest way to give it.
Click your avatar in the top right and choose Settings.
Scroll to the bottom of the left menu and click Developer settings.
Open Personal access tokens → Fine-grained tokens and click Generate new token.
Give the token a name you'll recognise, for example profile-readme. Keep Resource owner as your own account and choose an expiry. You only need the token when you publish from Glassfolio; the daily updates use GitHub's own temporary token, so an expired token doesn't stop them.
Under Repository access, choose Only select repositories and tick your-username/your-username.
Under Permissions, click Add permissions and set:
| Permission | Access | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Contents | Read and write | Commit the README, banner and cards |
| Workflows | Read and write | Add the daily-update workflows in .github/workflows/ |
| Metadata | Read-only | Added by GitHub automatically |
Nothing else is needed. Then click Generate token.
Without Workflows: Read and write, your README and cards are still published, but the daily updates are left out and Glassfolio tells you exactly what to add. You can edit the token's permissions later; you don't need a new one.
Copy the token now: GitHub shows it only once. Keep it private and don't paste it anywhere except Glassfolio.
Part 3
Go to the home page and press Build my README. It takes you to the studio with the cursor in the username box. The studio shows a sample profile until you load yours.
In 1. Your GitHub username or profile link, paste your profile link (for example https://github.com/your-username) or just your username, then press Build my README. The preview below fills with your own repositories and activity.
Open Exact data: add a token at the bottom of the options and paste the same token, then press Build my README again. With a token, the heatmap and streaks cover the past year instead of the last 90 days of public activity, and the same token is used for publishing, so you only paste it once.
Under Look, choose in order:
The preview updates as you choose, and the Light and Dark switches above it show both versions.
Fill in what you'd like visitors to read first:
For employers is optional too: what you're open to, a résumé link, certifications, a recruiter summary, skills backed by your repositories, and impact numbers for your projects.
Under Order & projects, move sections up or down and tick up to six repositories to feature, in the order you want them. Tick none to show your most-starred ones.
Under Daily updates, leave Keep my stats fresh every day ticked. It adds the workflows that refresh your profile automatically. It becomes available once your own profile is loaded.
Under Sections, tick or untick any part of the README: the wave header and footer, visual cards, contribution heatmap, timeline, projects, Connect links, the 3D contribution universe and the footer credit are on by default. Recently pushed and the Language donut chart are off until you tick them.
The Make it even better box lists quick wins, such as a job title or repository descriptions. Click a tip to jump to the field that fixes it.
Part 4
In 2. Publish your README.md, press Publish to GitHub. The panel says which repository it will commit to and which permissions the token needs.
Paste your token and press Publish. If you already added it under Exact data (step 11), you can leave this box empty.
You'll see Published N files with the time of your first daily run, and links to your profile and to the Actions tab.
If it says Daily updates were NOT added, the token is missing Workflows: Read and write (step 7). Your README is live anyway; fix the token and publish again to add the daily updates.
Part 5
Your repository now contains:
README.md, banner.svg, banner-light.svg and a cards/ folder: the profile and its images, in a dark and a light version..github/workflows/update-readme.yml: rebuilds everything once a day..github/workflows/update-universe.yml: refreshes the 3D universe every 6 hours..readme-patch/: your saved choices (config.json) and the generator the workflows run.
Open your profile. Visitors on GitHub's light theme see the light version, and visitors on the dark theme see the dark one.
Open your repository's Actions tab, choose Update profile README and press Run workflow to see it work without waiting. A successful run makes an Update profile stats commit when your numbers have changed.
Open the studio again, build with your username, change the options and publish again. The daily workflows always use your latest choices. Don't edit README.md or the images by hand: the next daily run rebuilds them from your choices.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Daily updates were NOT added | Give the token Workflows: Read and write (step 7) and publish again. The message names what's missing for your token. |
| The token can't write to this repository | The token needs Contents: Read and write on your-username/your-username, and the repository must be in its Repository access list (step 6). |
| Create a public repository named … | Create the profile repository first (step 1). It must be public and named exactly like your username. |
| GitHub's rate limit is used up | Wait a little, or add your token under Exact data (step 11). |
| The page looks like an older version | Press Ctrl+Shift+R (Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac). The page also reloads itself once when a newer version has been deployed. |
| The profile still shows old images | GitHub caches images for a few minutes. Wait, then refresh the profile. |
| The daily workflow stopped | GitHub pauses scheduled workflows in a public repository after 60 days without activity. Re-enable it in the Actions tab. |
To stop the daily updates, delete the two files in .github/workflows/ or disable them in the Actions tab. Your README stays as it is.